Fabric fasteners



Feb. 24, 1970 1;. MOGARRY 3,496,614

FABRIC msmmms Filed Nov. 17. 1967 f 6 2o. 2 ,umim

!;Z@|:1z so a :2 26 FIG4 FIG 5. 8 20 837 6 a I a lo 26 FIG 3.

INVENTOR JOHN J. MGAPRY ATTORN EY United States Patent Ofice 3,496,614 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 3,496,614 FABRIC FASTENERS John J. McGarry, 744 Lublin Ave., Bay Ridges, Ontario, Canada Filed Nov. 17, 1967, Ser; No. 684,031

Int. Cl. A44b 9/00 US. Cl. 24-156 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated, flexible and resilient strap member having two ends, an inner surface and an outer surface, is provided, at one of said two ends,"with a prong projecting from said inner surface and, at the other of said two ends, with an opening for removably receiving said prong, said opening extending from said inner surface only partially to said outer surface of said flexible member and said prong and said opening being provided with co-operating projections and depressions whereby said prong may be detachably locked within said opening.

The present invention relates to fastening devices for detachably securing together a plurality of pieces of sheet material. The invention relates more particularly to fastening devices which have several advantages when compared to conventional safety pins when used for the purpose ofv securing a diaper around an infants body.

As will be explained in greater detail hereinafter, conventional safety pins possess certain disadvantages as fastening devices particularly insofar as their use for securing infants diapers is concerned. One serious disadvantage of conventional safety pins in such use is that they are relatively difiicult to push through the diaper material. A further disadvantage of conventional safety pins is that they present a significant danger of causing injury to an infant or even to the user both during their insertion into the diaper material and after they have been fastened in view of the ease with which they may become unfastened. i

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved fastening device having a minimum number of component parts enabling it to be manufactured inexpensively and which is capable of being used for securing a diaper to an infant with a reduced risk of injuring either the infant or the user.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of fastening devices in accordance with the invention.

The invention will now be described, merely by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an enlarged plan view from the inner surface of a fastening device in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view along the line 22 of the fastening device of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of FIG- URE 2 to show clearly the method of mounting the pin,

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the fastener in its locked condition,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view showing two fasteners applied to a diaper,

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 2 of an alternative embodiment of a fastening device in accordance with the invention.

The fastening device generally indicated at 2 of the accompanying drawings comprises an elongated flexible member 4 having an inner surface 6 and an outer surface 8. At one end 10 of the flexible member 4, a prong generally indicated at 12 projects from the flexible member 4. At the other end 14 of the flexible member 4, there is provided an opening generally indicated at 16. It will be seen from FIGURE 2 that the opening 16 extends from the inner surface 6 of the flexible member 4 only partially to the outer surface 8. Expressed in another manner, it can be stated that the opening 16 is closed at one end, i.e. at its lower end.

It will be noted that, in the embodiment illustrated the prong 12 is generally cylindrical and is provided With a point 18 at its exposed end. Intermediate the point 18 and the elongated member 4, the prong 12 is provided with a radially extending projection in the general form A of a sphere 20. It will further be noted that the opening 16 corresponds dimensionally to the prong 12 in that it comprises a generally cylindrical tubular opening 22 provided with a generally spherical depression 24 in its internal wall surface.

It will be seen from FIGURES 2, 3 and 5 that, when the prong 12 is inserted within the opening 16 to lock the prong detachably within said opening, the sphere 20 is disposed within the spherical depression 24. In a preferred construction, the material surrounding the opening 16 will be sufliciently resilient to permit the insertion and removal of the prong 12. In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, the prong 12 is integrally formed with a plate 26 disposed within the material of the flexible member 4. This plate serves to secure the prong to the flexible member. In the case where the flexible member is formed of a thermoplastic material, it will be understood that the device can be moulded with the plate 26 suitably disposed within the mould.

It will be appreciated that the prong 12 may be provided with more than one sphere 20 and that, in such a case, the opening 16 will be provided with a corresponding number of spherical depressions 24. It is also possible, although not preferred, to provide depressions in the prong 12 and to have corresponding protuberances in the wall of the opening 16.

Although the elongated member 4 is in itself flexible, it may be advantageous, as can particularly be seen in FIGURES l and 2, to weaken the member 4 intermediate its two ends as at 28 to facilitate the flexing of the member 4. Such weakening is usefully provided by thinning the flexible member as shown in the drawings; it could alternatively be effected by the provision of score lines or by narrowing the member 4.

It will be seen by reference to FIGURE 5 that in use, the prong 12 is first pushed through the layers 30 and 32 of material which are to be secured together and that the flexible member 4 is then flexed over the edges of the layers 30 and 32 and the opening 16 is then pushed over the exposed end of the prong 12. In doing this, the sphere 20 becomes disposed within the spherical depression 24 thereby locking the fastening device in position.

In general, the flexible member 4 will be thicker at each of its ends than it is at points intermediate its two ends. This will particularly be the case for the end 14 containing the opening 16. In order to facilitate removal of the prong 12 from within the opening 16, the end 14 of the flexible member 4 can usefully be provided with a longitudinally extending lip 34 disposed between the inner surface 6 and the outer surface 8 of the member 4.

In the alternative embodiment shown in FIGURE 7, the prong 12' is formed as a unitary structure with the flexible member 4, thereby dispensing with the need for the plate 26. It will be appreciated that, for the construction shown in FIGURE 7, the material of which the fastening device is manufactured will need to have the correct balance of rigidity, flexibility and resilience to permit the elongated member 4 to bend yet to impart sufficient strength to the prong 12 to permit it to be pushed through the layers of material which are to be secured together.

Although the fastening devices of the present invention can be used for securing together two or more sheets of any material which can be pierced by the prongs of such devices, one very important use for the fastening devices of the present invention is for retaining diapers on infants. In such a use, the fastening devices of the present invention present the advantages indicated below compared to the safety pins presently used for securing diapers on infants.

(1) EASE OF HANDLING The prong of a device according to the invention can be pushed through the overlapping layers of diaper material and the device can be locked using one hand thus freeing the persons other hand for steadying the infant.

(2) SAFETY (a) In use, the prong of a device according to the invention can be pushed outwardly through the diaper material away from the infants body whereas, with a conventional safety pin, the pin is first pushed towards the infants body with consequent danger of injuring the infant or even the persons fingers.

(b) Furthermore, it is a well known fact that a conventional safety pin can accidentally become unfastened by the infant lying on the pin or pressing it. The devices of the invention can, however, only be opened by the application of pressure to the undersurface of the lip 34. The possibility of such a device being unfastened accidentally by pressure from the infants body or even by the infant pulling or pushing on the lip 34 is, therefore, very remote.

(c) If a conventional safety pin does accidentally become unfastened, the springiness of the metal frequently causes the pin to pull partly out of the diaper material and so be pointed towards the infants body. On the other hand, in the remote possibility of a device according to the invention becoming unfastened, the prong 12 will still be pointed away from the infants body.

(d) A further safety feature of the device of the present invention resides in the fact that the length of exposed prong when such a device is unfastened is much less than for a safety pin. The device is, therefore, inherently incapable of injuring an infant to the same extent as an unfastened safety pin.

(3) MANUFACTURING SIMPLICITY The fastening devices of the invention can be manufactured inexpensively by a simple moulding technique from inexpensive thermoplastic resins. They are washable and, by the use of a stainless steel or unitary moulded prong, they are rust-proof and readily sterilisable.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege or property is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A safety fastening device for detachably securing together a plurality of pieces of sheet material and comprising an elongated, flexible and resilient moulded member of a corrosionrresistant plastics material having two ends, an outer surface free of sharp edges, and an inner surface, and provided, at one of said two ends, with a sharply pointed conical prong projecting from said inner surface and, at the other of said two ends, with an opening for removably receiving said prong, said opening extending from said inner surface partially to said outer surface of said flexible member and said prong and said opening being provided with co-operating projections and depressions whereby said prong may be detachably locked within said opening, said projections comprising at least one radially extending'spherical projection positioned immediately adjacent said conical point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,567 9/1931 Perquin et al 40-302 1,985,032 12/1934 Hoult.

2,548,104 4/1951 Frison 24150 XR 2,662,321 12/1953 Stotfel 40-302 XR 2,897,565 8/1959 Courtney 24-157 3,201,342 8/ 1965 Armistead.

2,841,848 7/1958 Smith 2490* XR FOREIGN PATENTS 1,420,247 10/ 1965 France.

183,931 7/1936 Switzerland.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

